Traditionally, smartphone operating systems allow a single application to control the display as a standard operating mode. Those applications that are not actively controlling the display are sometimes said to be “running in the background” or to be “background applications,” and the application controlling the display is sometimes said to be “running in the foreground” or to be the “foreground application.” At times, it is desirable for background applications to be able to temporarily (e.g., modally) interrupt foreground application control of the display in order to present information (e.g., time-sensitive information) to a user. A common example is a “drop down” or “pop up” that overlays a relatively small portion of the display to present the contents of a text message sent to the user. Notifications (e.g., data messages) that are received without being explicitly requested (e.g., as part of a request-response messaging protocol) are sometimes called “push notifications.” Some smartphone operating systems allow for background applications to receive push notifications. Push notifications are used in a wide range of contexts. For example, it has become commonplace for use push notifications for marketing purposes. A company may deliver messages to customers using mobile push notifications. Current techniques allow for the smartphone user to click on these push notifications which may, for example, result in the sender's mobile application being opened. This causes the application to come to the foreground and seize control of the device display, closing or pushing the previous foreground application in the background, which can frustrate a user who was engaged with the previous foreground application. Even directing the smartphone user to an intermediary page of a current foreground application can delay the user from performing operations related to the push notification, again leading to irritability and frustration for smartphone users and possibly a loss of revenue for the sender. Conventional techniques can make it cumbersome for push notification to be used in a wide variety of contexts.